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Local strawberry growers report a better crop than last year, but the season is winding down

Linda Abbink of St. Thomas selects a quart of freshly picked strawberries at Talbotville Berry Farm Market south of London, Monday. A normal season for strawberries has been a relief to growers after last year’s dry weather. (MIKE HENSEN, The London Free Press)

If you’ve got strawberry-picking on your mind, don’t wait to act on that thought.

“We’re over the peak. The sooner they’re out, the better,” grower Bill Millar said of Londoners who like to visit farms where they can pick their own strawberries. “It’s been a good season,” he added.

At Millar’s Lambeth operation, strawberries came into season about June 10. “We should be going at least until the 20th of July,” he said, thanks to a variety of berry he declines to name because he doesn’t want competitors knowing his growing secrets.

“I think overall it’s been a good season. There’s been some challenging weather,” echoed Kevin Schooley, the head of the Ontario Berry Growers’ Association, which represents about 170 of the province’s berry farmers.

“Last year, I’d probably say it was a little dry,” Schooley noted. The key is for the berries to get a good amount of rain, but not too much. Every grower is at the mercy of Mother Nature.

“Everything kind of lined up to give us a really good season,” said Will Heeman, of Heeman’s Garden Centre and Strawberry Farm, which is adjacent to London International Airport. “For us, what it’s meant is we’ve had excellent picking conditions for pick your own,” especially when compared to last year’s single-day season, he said.

Heeman expect this will be the last weekend for U-pickers.

“It’s getting closer to the end of the season,” he said. “It’s been one of the best crops all around, for us.”

Heeman said it’s been a rewarding time to be a fan of Ontario strawberries. The flavour of this year’s berries is impressive, he pointed out.

After four weeks of picking, the season is also just about over at Gerry Simpson’s Talbotville Berry Farm Market. “Our season’s about normal,” he said.

He also confirmed the weather has been very localized, meaning it could have been raining this spring at one end of a field, but not the other.

“Everyone’s (experienced) different conditions. Especially this year,” Simpson said. The only thing he has done differently this year is he hasn’t sprayed for bugs as much as in previous years.

Up next for all these growers are raspberries. They also will have what are called ever-­bearing strawberries (as opposed to June-bearing ones), which can be in ­season until Thanksgiving, but aren’t ideal for pick-your-own because the plants need to be picked clean.